


The Siren

by orphan_account



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types, Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
Genre: M/M, basically enjolras is a mermaid and he lives happily ever after with grantaire, fairytale AU, mermaid au, mermaidjolras
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-29
Updated: 2013-09-29
Packaged: 2017-12-27 22:50:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/984539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Enjolras is a mermaid. Grantaire is a sailor. They meet.</p><p>(Also known as a fairytale AU in which they live happily ever after.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Siren

A faint light is coming from somewhere overhead. Grantaire can feel water, or at least what he thinks is water, all around him and yet he finds that he can breath quite easily. There is the sound of waves crashing against the shore somewhere in the distance, more of an echo than anything else. A cave, perhaps? An underwater cave. That is his best guess for now. 

Grantaire remembers a beautiful creature, what he, at the time, had thought to be a maiden in distress, perhaps the sole survivor of a shipwreck, on a rock in the middle of the sea. A beautiful song floated in the air, lyrics in a language he wouldn’t dream of understanding, and the maiden was brushing her long, golden hair. Her lips formed a delicate pout and her eyes were downcast. She seemed to be brushing her hair with something that resembled a comb but was decidedly not one. On a closer look, he can remember that he had discovered the comb to be made of what appeared to be bone. He can recall falling overboard and he can recall the maiden diving into the water but not to save him, merely to push him underwater. Had she brought him here? He has no way of knowing.

Suddenly a shift in the air, as if a door has been opened, catches his attention but he can’t see anything in the darkness that surrounds him. Yet he can hear the same song from that afternoon. Has it been an afternoon? How many days had passed? Months? Years? The sheer idea that so much time might has passed terrifies Grantaire. Is it possible that he has died? Perhaps. And this seems like such a beautiful way to spend all eternity.

He looks towards the front of the cave, or what he believes to be a cave, and can swear there is a golden glint moving towards him. He draws back and his back hits a wall, cold and damp. Whatever is coming towards him is moving incredibly fast. Both curiosity and fear overwhelm him. And suddenly, just as fast as it had appeared, the glint disappears. Grantaire’s shoulders slump and he breathes out a sigh of relief. Just then, exactly in front of him, appears something. The cave is suddenly illuminated, the light almost blinding.

It seems to be his maiden from earlier and yet, at such a distance, he can easily see that it is far from that. It seems to be a man, younger than him even, a boy perhaps. Even in the light, his long hair forms a sort of halo around him. His eyes are blue and wide, glinting with a sort of determination and confidence he has never seen before, there is a hint of curiosity in them as well. Grantaire can swear the apparition is an angel. The concept vanishes rather quickly. The man’s chest is bare and Grantaire can’t help but look down, nonetheless he seems to have ceased being human from the hips down. A long tail, a fish tail, is extending from there. It’s fiery red with an immense fin at the end of it. Grantaire draws back in fear once more.

The creature, he finds no reason to call him anything else, is now face to face with him and apparently gazing quite intently, not to mention with a certain degree of intensity, at his face. Grantaire considers reaching out and touching the tail, he can’t help but wonder how it would feel. Like a fish? Perhaps. It certainly looks terrifying. He has heard many a tale of men lured to their deaths by such creatures. Despite that, he is no longer frozen in fear. More than anything, he is enthralled by those azure eyes looking directly into his. The creature reaches out a hand to touch his face and Grantaire takes a sharp breath, back hitting the wall again.

The creature’s hand is damp, oddly not outright wet, and scaly. The sensation is bizarre, unlike anything Grantaire had ever felt before, although not necessarily unpleasant. The tail behind the creature has stopped moving and he seems to be entirely too fascinated, transfixed even, by Grantaire’s face. Suddenly the creature smiles, shyly perhaps but not completely so, his eyes hold the same level of confidence as before. A hint of teeth appears in that smile and they seem sharp, maybe even sharp enough to cut.

Grantaire, once again overwhelmed by fear, pushes the creature away and surprisingly, succeeds in doing so.

”Why did you do that?!” a voice asks, soft and perhaps a little indignant in tone. He is startled to realize that the man, or creature, he no longer knows what to call him, has spoken.

“What are you?” Grantaire gasps out, a little surprised by the fact that he could actually speak. For all he knew, they were underwater.

The man looks even more indignant and crosses his arms, a petulant expression across his rather sharp features. Grantaire is shocked to find that the word “adorable” passes through his mind at the sight of the man. He, the man, seems to be one of those feared sirens and Grantaire, despite his usual unwillingness to believe anything and quite infuriating tendency to wonder whether anything was worth believing, knows enough to conclude that he shouldn’t approach the creature, let along befriend it, or him.

“Enjolras,” the man says. Grantaire highly doubts that is the answer to his previous inquire, it seems to be an introduction.

Grantaire stares for a moment longer before hesitatingly saying, “Grantaire.” Out of habit, he reaches out a hand, presumably offering to shake Enjolras’. The siren just stares in apparent awe. Grantaire simply retreats his hand and doesn’t say another word, not what sure of what to say, not quite sure of what he could even say.

"Did you save me?" he eventually asks. It comes out as more of a whisper than anything else.

“I was supposed to drown you,” Enjolras replies and Grantaire just rises an eyebrow.

“I wouldn’t have minded it,” Grantaire finds himself saying and for whatever reason, that gets a smile out of Enjolras. He finds himself once more surprised but doesn’t comment on it.

Enjolras swims further away from him, though that fascination in his eyes still lingers as he looks towards Grantaire. “Am I in the sea?” Grantaire asks and he tries to move towards Enjolras but finds himself far too slow.

"Where else?" Enjolras responds and gives another one of those mysterious smiles. He looks alluring, he reminds Grantaire of the sea and he nearly laughs at the whole idea. He doesn’t question how he can even breath here, he assumes Enjolras would eventually give him an answer.

“Why did you save me?” he asks instead. Enjolras finally ceases swimming around, his tail completely still for once.

Enjolras’ eyes are wide, wider than usually, and he seems taken aback by the question, as if he weren’t expecting it. Grantaire thinks he should have been, after all it’s the most natural one to ask. A moment of tense silence passes between them before Enjolras simply shrugs but does come closer. He grips Grantaire’s hand, not to harshly, and whispers something about a place he knows.

It turns out, outside the cave, there’s a whole city. Grantaire doesn’t even question the possibility of it all, by now he’s convinced he must have died. Some of the lights are blinding and the colours are nearly overwhelming but it’s full of life. Fish seem to be everywhere but it seem to be inhabited by sirens most of all. Enjolras keeps swimming though, dragging Grantaire after him, and doesn’t stop even once to look. Grantaire supposes he’s used to it.

They eventually reach a clearing between the statues and buildings made of rock or coral but Enjolras keeps moving. Grantaire wonders how he doesn’t ever tire. He’s beautiful though. Enjolras with his golden hair and fiery tail. It’s practically the colour of fire or blood and Grantaire thinks it suits him just fine. Enjolras seems to be fire himself, always moving, always passionate, nearly burning. He finds himself smiling at the thought.

They reach what seems to be a cove and just then Enjolras stops. “We can talk here,” he says and once more, Grantaire doesn’t ask for an explanation.

“My sisters wouldn’t understand,” Enjolras continues. “We must not talk to humans. But…I…” Enjolras stops and Grantaire thinks he might actually be hallucinating, there’s a faint blush tainting Enjolras’ pale cheeks. “I found you fascinating,” he finally finishes.

He finds himself wondering if that was the extent of what Enjolras wanted to say. Instead of asking, he is content with merely saying, “I suppose I owe you a thank you.”

Enjolras gives a smile in return, a considerably happier one than before, and swims a full circle around Grantaire before once more stopping in front of him. “I’ve always wondered how it is to be human,” he says, glancing down at Grantaire’s legs. A smile that seems almost playful spreads across Enjolras’ lips and he asks, “Can I return with you on land?”

Grantaire is definitely taken aback by the question. He finds himself wondering whether Enjolras would shine just as bright up on land, where he has the sun to compete with. He nearly laughs at the thought. For the first time in years, he finds himself unreasonably happy. Perhaps the warmth radiating from Enjorlas has finally reached him. Instead of an speaking, he just nods and gives Enjolras a hopeful look. 

“The sea-witch,” Enjolras breathes out and he doesn’t seem nearly as happy as before. He’s afraid, Grantaire realizes. He must admit that a sea-witch does sound rather frightening. He wonders what the other sirens would think of a transformation, of Enjolras living on land. “Give me a day,” Enjolras says.

Grantaire does laugh this time. “I could give you a lifetime,” he says. Enjolras only smiles in return.

—-

They stumble onto the land with great difficult. Grantaire found mere minutes ago that he can no longer breath underwater, he hadn’t given it any thought then. But now, now that he’s not any close to dying, he thinks it might have something to do with the fact that Enjolras himself has just acquired legs from the sea-witch.

Enjolras is gasping from breath, hair plastered to his face, and holding onto Grantaire, who attempts to drag him to shore. It turns out he can’t quite manage to swim with legs. It turns out becoming human in the middle of the ocean is not the best idea.

Eventually they’re both safe on shore. Enjolras is laughing, happiness perhaps, relief most likely. They stumble into a embrace, despite Enjolras being completely bare. They hold each other close for a few long minutes. They’re merely breathing each other in, making sure they’re actually here, safe, alive.

Grantaire pulls away first and Enjolras tries to take a step closer but he can’t yet manage to walk on his new legs. He stumbles a little and they both laugh again. Grantaire takes Enjolras’ hand into his own and he notices, with a smile, that it’s not longer scaly nor damp. His sharp teeth seem to have disappeared as well but besides that and the disappearance of the tail there are hardly any differences. He’s just as stunning as before, just as fiery and Grantaire wonders why has he ever doubted that.

—-

Two months later and Enjolras is still on land. By now he has learned how to walk, run even. He doesn’t seem to want to return any time soon. He very rarely speaks of the sea though, even rarer it is for him to approach it, he seems almost wary of it at times.

Grantaire doesn’t mention his adventure either, doesn’t mention falling overboard, doesn’t mention the sirens nor the city. He’s content enough with merely having Enjolras with him. Life seems almost peaceful for a while. At least until he beings to doubt.

—-

“Why haven’t you left yet?” Grantaire asks one day. He has just returned from one of his travels, though by now he knows nothing will ever be as wondrous as the city Enjolras hails from, no one will be quite as extraordinary or as beautiful as Enjolras himself, a siren on land. 

"I like you," Enjolras replies and he seems honest though Grantaire doesn’t doubt there’s something more to what he’s saying. "I like it here," he continues and unfortunately leaves it at that.

Grantaire begins to suspect that Enjolras is not actually able to return, perhaps he had traded his tail for legs forever. He is rather saddened by the idea and the guilt is nearly overwhelming, Enjolras has done this for him after all. And yet with one glance at Enjolras, he assures himself that they are both happy. Perhaps it is even true, he hopes so.

—-  
Enjolras befriends Courfeyrac, the prince of the kingdom, and Combeferre. Grantaire is not entirely sure how it happened, perhaps Enjolras’ otherworldly charm and beauty has won them over.

They all soon learn that Enjolras has rather strong views regarding the monarchy, the world in general. Most often than not Grantaire scoffs at him but he admits that he is even more charmed by that fire burning inside Enjolras. The potential has always been there, the passion has been there since Grantaire had first met him as a siren.

There are plans for a revolution but it doesn’t quite succeeded. Courfeyrac seems to fully agree with it but the king and queen are much more powerful.

—-  
A year passes and there are some aspects of being a human Enjolras hasn’t yet gotten used to, it appears that he never will, but he and Grantaire are happier than ever, despite the incidents of the previous year.

Enjolras, as Grantaire has learned, doesn’t seem to age a day, sometimes Grantaire adores that fact, sometimes he fears Enjolras might leave at some point or another. He usually forgets his worries as soon as he catches sight of Enjolras.

Courfeyrac throws them a lavish wedding at the end the summer. They have what could easily be called a happily ever after.

**Author's Note:**

> so this was written for my best friend's birthday and i initially posted it on tumblr and i know my writing's not that great but i thought i'd give it a try on ao3.


End file.
